434 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
{Am.  Jour,  Pharm, 
Septeiiober,'1914. 
Compressed  Tablets.  (Rohn,  R.)- — For  the  production  of  com- 
pressed tablets  that  will  readily  disintegrate,  the  addition  of  from  10 
to  20  per  cent,  of  magnesium  peroxide  is  suggested.  Tablets  with 
this  addition,  when  moistened  with  water,  will  disintegrate  almost 
immediately. — Sudd.  Apo'th.-Ztg.J  1914,  vol.  54,  p.  398. 
Urease.  (Puckner,  W.  A.) — Urease  is  a  preparation  of  the  urea- 
lytic  enzyme  obtained  from  the  soy  bean,  Soja  hispida.  It  decom- 
poses urea  into  ammonia  and  carbon  dioxide,  and  it  may  be  employed 
in  the  determination  of  the  amount  of  urea  in  the  urine,  blood,  and 
other  body  fluids.  Urease  is  now  being  marketed  by  several  firms  as 
a  fine,  white  powder  with  little  taste  or  odor.  It  is  soluble  in  slightly 
alkaline  water,  and  represents  the  urea-converting  enzyme  of  soy 
bean  in  a  condition  of  high  potency.  It  is  practically  free  of  the 
water-soluble  proteins  which  are  precipitated  by  hydrochloric  acid, 
and  of  proteins  that  are  insoluble  in  water. — /.  Am.  M.  Assoc.,  1914, 
vol.  63,  p.  165. 
Urotropin, — Simon  reports  six  cases  in  which  hematuria  fol- 
lowed the  administration  of  fairly  large  doses  of  urotropin.  In  rab- 
bits hematuria  could  be  produced  only  by  the  administration  of  very 
large  doses :  8  Gm.  per  day. — Therap.  Monatsh.,  1914,  vol.  28,  p.  544. 
Uteraniin, — Uteramin  is  a  new  name  applied  to  paraoxy- 
phenylethylamine,  formerly  sold  under  the  name  systogen. — Therap. 
Monatsh.,  1914,  vol.  28,  p.  511. 
IVassermann  Reaction  in  Tuberculosis.  (Letulle  and  others.)  — 
It  was  found  that  19  per  cent,  of  346  tuberculosis  inmates  of  the 
Boucicaut  Hospital  gave  a  positive  response  to  the  Wassermann  test. 
Only  ten  of  the  total  of  64  reacting  were  aware  of  their  syphilitic 
taint  or  had  signs  of  it.  Fourteen  of  the  patients,  including  eight 
under  36,  had  some  aorta  affection. — Bull.  Acad.  Med.,  1914,  vol. 
8,  No.  4.)   /.  Am.  M.  Assoc.,  19 14,  vol.  62,  p.  1848. 
NEWS  ITEM. 
The  National  Association  of  Retail  Druggists  ended  in 
Philadelphia  on  August  21  the  largest  convention  of  druggists  ever 
held  in  this  country.  Fully  1 500  delegates,  representing  20,000  mem- 
bers of  the  association,  were  present.  The  following  officers  were 
elected :  President,  Samuel  C.  Henry ;  Vice  Presidents,  A.  S.  Ludwig, 
W.  H.  Humphreys  and  T.  C.  Coltman ;  Secretary,  Thomas  H.  Potts ; 
Treasurer,  Grant  W.  Stevens ;  Executive  Committee,  James  F.  Fin- 
nerman,  Robert  J.  Frick  and  T.  S.  Armstrong. 
